KOCHI: The parents of the five-year-old girl who was raped and murdered by a migrant worker in Aluva were duped out of Rs 1.2 lakh by the spouse of a local Mahila Congress worker. After the matter came out in public, Mahila Congress state committee suspended Ernakulam district secretary Haseena Muneer from the party.
According to local Congress workers, Muneer, the husband of Haseena, returned the entire amount on Thursday following the controversy.
Officials said Muneer first took Rs 20,000 from the migrant family on the pretext of giving advance rent amount to the owner of a house that the family was relocating to.
Later, he took another Rs 20,000 raised by local MLA Anwar Sadath convincing him that he had paid the advance amount for the house rent from his earnings.
Subsequently, he also took Rs 80,000 from the migrant family to purchase furniture and other household appliances for the new rented house.
"After the matter became news, Muneer returned the entire money to the migrant family," said a Congress party worker.
The state government had sanctioned Rs 10 lakh to the family of the five-year-old girl, who was brutally raped and murdered on July 28.
On Tuesday, a lower court awarded the death penalty to Bihar native Asafak Alam for the crime.
Though Muneer collected Rs 80,000 for the purchase of furniture and other household goods, the people's committee to assist the migrant family had arranged furniture for them with the support of Thaikkattukara Service Cooperative Bank.
When contacted, Congress MLA Anwar Sadath said he had collected Rs 20,000 and handed over the money to pay the advance amount for the new rented house for the migrant family. This amount was collected by Muneer but he kept the money with himself.
"I had arranged Rs 20,000 for the family to pay the advance for the new rented house, which was handed over to this person (Muneer). However, he again collected the amount from the family," said the MLA when asked about the incident.
The Aluva police said the migrant family has not registered a complaint in this regard.